Nick Clegg taking us in wrong direction, say nearly half of Lib-Dems

Nearly half the Liberal Democrats think Nick Clegg is leading them in “the wrong direction”, an exclusive poll reveals today on the eve of their party conference.

Research by Ipsos MORI revealed that Mr Clegg is seen as markedly less attractive than his party by those people who plan to vote Liberal Democrat.

Some 51 per cent said that they were being led in the right direction, while 45 per cent said they were being taken the wrong way.

The doubts were revealed as a senior Lib Dem grandee said Mr Clegg he may have to be replaced because of his unpopularity.

“Let’s be objective, we have to accept that Nick’s ratings are very poor and have been for a long time,” said former Treasury spokesman Lord Oakeshott.

“You’ve got to be frank that his ratings are down at levels which if you go back were only seen by Mrs Thatcher shortly before she left and Michael Foot. It’s nothing personal, you’ve got to look at the facts.”

The peer, a close friend of Business Secretary Vince Cable, said next year’s London and European elections were a “last chance” for the party. He said Mr Cable was well qualified to be leader. However, Mr Cable said the intervention was “unhelpful”.

Mr Clegg will attempt to unite activists in his conference speech by arguing that Lib Dems are winning key victories in the Coalition, including tax cuts for the low paid and the pupil premium.

But Ipsos MORI found other party leaders appeared to command more confidence from their supporters than Mr Clegg. Some 78 per cent of Conservatives say that David Cameron is leading them in the right direction, with just 14 per cent saying the opposite. Among Labour supporters, 59 per cent say Ed Miliband is taking them the right way, with 32 per cent saying the opposite.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage has the highest rating, with 81 per cent of their voters saying he is leading them the right way.

Liberal Democrats are also less likely to list their leader’s credentials as a potential Prime Minister as the reason they decided to vote for their party.

Only 36 per cent of Lib Dems say they made up their mind because “their leader would make the best prime minister”. That compares with 64 per cent of Conservatives and 53 per cent of Ukip supporters. Mr Miliband’s score is almost as low as Mr Clegg’s, at 37 per cent.

Lib Dems are more than twice likely to say they are motivated by their party’s policies or beliefs than their leader. Among Tories, enthusiasm for Mr Cameron is as powerful as enthusiasm for Conservative beliefs.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI said: “It’s fascinating to see how the political triangle of leaders, parties and policies plays out for the different camps. For Conservatives, David Cameron is as much as a magnet as the party, but more voters say they support Labour and the LibDems out of dislike for the other parties than because they like their leader.”

Today’s research also suggests that tactical voting could happen again at the next election. Asked which parties they would choose if they had to switch, three in 10 Labour supporters said they could switch to the Liberal Democrats. Some 31 per cent of Lib Dems said they would pick Labour as second choice, and 30 per cent said the Tories.

Few Tories were willing to go Labour and vice versa. But a third of Conservatives said they would choose the Liberal Democrats if they had to pick a second party.

A quarter of Tories said they would pick Ukip if they had to vote for another party.